Under-threat Birtley Swimming Centre 'an important lifeline'

Birtley Swimming Centre is one of two council-run leisure facilities in Gateshead facing closure

An under-threat Tyneside swimming pool has been lauded as a vital community lifeline by campaigners.

Birtley Swimming Centre is one of two Gateshead Council-run leisure facilities facing closure amid a £55m blackhole.

It had been earmarked for closure at the end of March, but will now stay open until the summer while potential rescue talks continue.

The council previously said it had to "rationalise" leisure services.

It announced plans to close two centres last year and launched a public consultation which saw more than 7,500 people take part.

After not being named among the most at-risk sites, the authority announced in January that the centre was facing closure along with Gateshead Leisure Centre.

'Massive shame'

Edith Scott, chairwoman of Birtley Amateur Swimming Club, said she was worried families and schools would not be able to afford to send children to facilities in Chester-le-Street or Washington.

"The club has been here for 49 years, next year is our 50th anniversary," she said.

"The pool is important for the community, important for the children.

"We aren't a competitive club, we are a schooling club and if the children can't come here then where are they going to go?"

Ann and Barry Cleugh, whose children and grandchildren have used the pool, said it would be a "massive shame" if it was to close.

Mrs Cleugh said: "Birtley is on the outskirts and there is very little here for young people to do. When they are starting to gain some independence they need somewhere to go on their own."

The council announced in January the under-threat sites would remain open temporarily as options such as community asset transfers are examined.

A final decision on the centres' future is expected in June, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The council has said attempts to make its public leisure services self-sustaining have failed and that they are expected to overspend their budget by about £2m this year, while also requiring £14.5m of maintenance over the next two decades.